Wyclef Jean on Whitney Houston, Haiti, Atlantic City and Fela Kuti

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

An interview with Wyclef Jean during his recent performance at the Pool at Harrah's.

By David J. Spatz

Add Comment | Comments: 1 | Posted Feb. 21, 2012

Wyclef at the Pool at Harrah's in Atlantic City on Feb. 11

Photo by Tom Briglia

His bid to become president of Haiti was derailed by a residency requirement before it ever got off the ground. But hip-hop artist and musician Wyclef Jean still wants to have a say in shaping the future of his birthplace two years after the impoverished Caribbean nation was torn apart by a catastrophic earthquake.

Only now, instead of using the ballot box, he’ll do it with his voice and his music.

“As far as Haiti, the next thing where I can be beneficial is if I can focus on a Wyclef Jean school of the arts,” the singer, guitarist and former member of The Fugees said.

After a January 2010 earthquake laid waste to the country and killed more than a quarter-million people, Jean said the tiny nation on the island of Hispaniola was left with a “youthful” population. One of the reasons he wanted to become the president of Haiti was to help young people recover from the disaster.

“I ran for president because politically I feel that when it comes to legislation and policy, [America] has a lot of weak policies towards Haiti,” said Jean, who moved to the United States from Haiti when he was nine.

“We were in a situation where over 51 percent of the population is a youth population, and I felt it was important they are included in what would be the reconstruction of the country, which would be an opportunity for job creation.”

Jean said one of his idols throughout his professional career has been Nigerian musician and political rights activist Fela Kuti, whose life has been chronicled in the Broadway play Fela!, which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards last year.

Just as Kuti used his music to call attention to various civil and human rights causes in Africa, Jean hopes his music can rally support for Haiti.

“Right now, it’s important for me to focus on the art side of what I do,” he said before a recent Atlantic City performance at The Pool After Dark at Harrah’s Resort.

After filing papers in August 2010 to run for president, the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council rejected his bid because he didn’t live in Haiti for five years prior to the November 2010 presidential election.

Jean accepted the council’s ruling. He said he supports the country’s current president, Joseph Michel Martelly, a former musician who performed under the stage name of Sweet Micky.

Jean said he’d continue to remain a good will “ambassador-at-large” for Haiti and will “always do my part.”

Meanwhile, just hours before he took the stage at The Pool, Jean was rocked by news of the death of his friend, singer Whitney Houston.

“It’s one of the saddest days for me and my family,” he said.

But he was determined to do his set and didn’t want anyone “to feel blue.” He opened his show by asking for a moment of silence, then played a track that he produced and Houston recorded as a tribute following the death of reggae singer Dennis Brown.

“[Houston’s death] really hit me hard because I know what she sounds like,” he said. “I know what her comedy voice sounds like, I know what it sounds like when she’s singing in the studio, or when she’s playing around saying my name. I got a chance to be with Whitney a few times in the studio [and] outside the studio. Whenever I saw her, she was always just so warm.”

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